Firestarter
by stoa3179
Summary: "Daddy? Why do people run? Why do they scream? I don't understand..." Tony looked at his daughter with sad eyes, and sighed. I don't know, Aria. I don't know..." He murmured, hugging her tightly. (Dad Tony)
1. Chapter 1

The girl curled into a ball, her back bruised and twisted. Hot tears and sweat mingled as they poured off her face. She was only a couple years old, bones still maturing. Easily bendable. Sobbing, she looked meekly at her leg, which was bent awkwardly in the middle. _"No! "_ She cried out in an unknown tongue. At least it was unknown to him. He approached her, almost timidly. Which was entirely unlike him, the confident, egotistical, murderer.

He reached down, cautiously touching the girl's cheek. She seemed to calm slightly, her breathing slowed. Despite his nice suit, he sat down next to her, doing nothing more than gently stroking the girl's cheek with the back of his hand, lulling her into a deep sleep.

He sighed, picking up the child, carrying her gently back home.

 **2 Years Earlier...**

"Mister Stark? There would appear to be someone at the door." Jarvis informed Tony calmly. Tony simply groaned, rolling off the couch sideways.

"Who." He grumbled to the AI.

"Pepper Potts, sir." Jarvis replied. Suddenly, Tony perked up. He leaped to his feet, brushed himself off, and made the quickest attempt to look like he gave a shit as possible. He rushed over, not too quickly though, to the door, his pace slowing as he drew closer.

"Pepper, how are things going?" Tony asked in his usual tone. His smile faltered, as he realized Pepper was fuming.

"I don't know how you pass off that useless lump in your head as a brain!"Pepper raged, pointing an accusing finger at his chest. Tony looked at her in shock.

"What?" He asked, clueless as to what he had done this time. Pepper groaned out of frustration.

"You and I were scheduled to go to the orphanage today, remember?" She tapped her foot impatiently. "But no, you just had to let down both the Aria, and me!" Tony rubbed his temple, trying to get a grasp on what she was saying.

"Wait, who the fuck is Aria?" Pepper threw her arms up in frustration.

"Tony, we talked about this yesterday! I'm ADOPTING, remember?! And you were supposed to be there too. It just..." Pepper took a deep breath, exhaling a long sigh. "Meant a lot to me..." Guilt washed over Tony. He'd let Pepper down. Again...

"Look, Pep, I'm sorry. I forgot. Did you get to reschedule?" Tony asked, almost meekly, worried he'd set her off again. Pepper nodded.

"Tomorrow. Just, promise you'll be there? Okay?" She looked at Tony with a pleading look that was unusual for her. Tony chuckled. This really did mean a lot to her.

"Okay, Pep."

 ** _I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! If you haven't guessed already, this'll be a Dad Tony Fic. If you're enjoying it so far feel free to follow this story! If not, leave a review and tell me what I can do to improve. Bye!_**


	2. Chapter 2

Tony huffed, speeding down the street in his latest car. He was easily breaking the speed limit.

"Why did I agree to this again?" He grumbled to Pepper, who was nicely dressed for the occasion. As was Tony, but he didn't really care as much as Pepper did. Pepper sighed.

"Because we agreed this would be a nice next step in our relationship." Pepper replied, as calmly as she could manage. Tony simply rolled his eyes.

"Wouldn't marriage be the next step?" Tony pointed out, making Pepper's cheeks lightly blush in realization that he was right. It made her wonder if he'd ever ask her about marriage. Probably not, knowing him.

"Well, I don't think we're ready for that yet." Pepper retorted.

"Right, but we're totally ready for a kid..." Tony slyly smirked, knowing he's won. Pepper opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out, and so she huffed angrily, as the car came to near screeching halt. "We're here Pep." Tony swallowed a strange lump in his throat. "Geez, are we really doing this?" Pepper nodded, a slight smile on her face. They walked inside, greeting a man inside.

"Hello, what can I help you with today mister...?" The man looked up expectantly, almost jumping with realization. "Mister Stark! What a surprise, you're actually here! Pepper, welcome again." He realized how giddy he was, and made an attempt to regain his composure. "Ahem... Mister Stark, it's very nice to meet you. Aria is waiting for you two, down the right hall, then right again, door number 14 on the left."

"Thank you, Matthew." Pepper said, keeping herself from jumping with excitement. Tony only nodded at the man. "Come on, Tony." Pepper grabbed him by the arm, practically dragging him down the hall. They entered the room, seeing an older woman with greying hair, and a toddler. She had short blonde curly hair, chubby cheeks, and a little white and pink dress on with puffy sleeves. The older woman gestured towards two chairs sitting across from who Tony assumed was Aria. "Hello Aria! I'm Pepper. Are you Aria?" Pepper cooed softly to the little girl. She nodded, not saying a word.

"He-I mean uhh... I'm Tony." Tony said awkwardly. He felt his cheeks heat up. He never stuttered. Ever. His leg was shaking and he could feel cold sweat drip off his forehead. Aria gently waved at them.

"Do you like toys, Aria?" Pepper asked quietly. Aria nodded, and both pepper and Tony lit up as a smile slowly grew on Aria's face. "Do you like... Ice cream?" Aria nodded, a wide smile now showing a few of her young teeth. "Do you like us?" Pepper asked nervously, gesturing to herself and Tony. Aria thought for a moment, before finally speaking.

" _Yes!"_ She replied in a strange language.

"W... What was that you said Aria?" Pepper asked, and Aria's smile began to fade.

" _Yes?_ " She said again less sure of her answer now. Tony tapped on Pepper shoulder, ushering her over so he could whisper something to her.

"What?" Pepper whispered.

"I don't think we can adopt a kid who can't even speak English!" Tony whispered back.

"Of course we can, it'll be fine."

"Pep..." Tony sighed, looking from Aria, and then back to Pepper. Tony groaned. "Fine..."

"Welcome to the family, kid."

 _ **Wow, two chapters in one day, I'm on a roll! Hope you enjoyed, special thanks to Raven35273 for reviewing, you wouldn't believe how much it means to me!**_

 _ **PS, Italic text means Aria's speaking a different language. Bye!**_


	3. Chapter 3

AN: This takes place after Iron Man 1.

"Sooo..." Tony searched for something to say, but couldn't. "What... Do you like to do for fun?" He asked, giving his best at an encouraging smile.

" _Drawing and building!"_ Aria responded eagerly. Tony nodded absentmindedly.

"I like to invent. Build..." He trailed off, but noticed Aria's wide grin and found her nodding with excitement. He looked at her in confusion as she pointed at her chest then up two fingers. He tried his best to translate. "You... too? Is that what that means?" Aria nodded joyfully and Tony grinned.

"Tony! I'm going to take Aria to the store!" Pepper called.

"What store?" He called back at her.

"Toy store, every little girl needs some toys." She explained. "You coming?" Tony sighed, putting down the microchip he was constructing.

"Sure, I guess." Tony sighed, brushing off his work attire, and walked over to Pepper, who was leaning in the doorway. As he walked past, he gave her a quick peck on the check. No, he normally wasn't a very affectionate person, and even if he was he'd have no way of showing it, but today he was in a good mood. Pepper seemed to notice this change too. Once they convinced Aria to come, She brought it up as they entered Tony's only 4 person car.

"You seem awfully cheery today." Pepper said with a smirk. "What's up? Don't tell me you're dying." She asked with a chuckle. Tony chuckled too.

"I don't know. I guess I just... Feel good today." The car slowly came to a stop at the toy store. He had been driving the speed limit, for once, so there was no screech or any noise at all as the car stopped. Tony looked back to see Aria looking at them curiously. He gave her a smile, before he and Pepper got out of the car. He went to the back seat door, opening it and unbuckling Aria, who was sitting happily in her booster seat.

" _When do I get good seat?_ " Aria asked, pointing at the seat next to her booster seat to indicate what she meant.

"When you're a big girl, Ari." Tony told her, having practiced reading her body language well. Pepper looked at him confused as they entered the store.

"How did you know what she was talking about? I don't even recognize the language she's speaking." Pepper whispered. Tony simply shrugged once more.

"I don't know. Practice, I guess." Tony smirked at her proudly. Pepper rolled her eyes, chuckling at his pompous and overly dramatic pose.

"Alright Aria, you can pick five toys. Pick any ones you want." Aria nodded, running off into the store. "Walk, Aria!" Pepper called after her, making Aria slow her pace to a fast walk.

15 minutes later...

Tony checked his expensive watch, carefully watching the time tick by.

" _Dada! Momma!"_ Aria called as she raced back to her parents, arms, filled with big toys. She showed them her toys one by one. She held out the largest, a toy guitar.

"That's cool, Ari! You like music?" Aria nodded, showing them her next one, a stuffed dragon. After that was a HUGE lego set, with another dragon, of course, a toy car, and finally...

"Is that..." Tony looked at the plastic figurine in surprise. "Hey, that's Iron Man, right?" A wide, goofy grin burst out on Tony's face as he examined the toy. Pepper began laughing at Tony's face, and how goofy he looked at the moment. Aria laughed too. And for once in her life,

She was happy.

 _ **Thank you all for reading, as always, and if you're enjoying my story so far, be sure to favorite or follow to see how it progresses. Besides, hint hint, next chapter gets JUICY! Stay tuned, expect it either tonight or tomorrow. Bye!**_


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, Ari, repeat after me." Tony had sat down with Aria, planning on having a long lesson with her about English. "Hello."

"Hewo?" Aria repeated, unsure, the words sounding strange as they rolled off her tongue.

"No, it's he-LL-o." Tony said, enunciating the 'LL'.

"Hew...Llll...Helwo...Hellllllllo? Hello? Hello." Tony beamed at her broadly.

"That. Was. Perfect. 12 outta 10." Tony praised, ruffling his daughter's hair. Aria giggled. "Alright, Ari, now say hungry, so we'll know when you need to eat."

"Hungwy!" Aria said confidently.

"No no, hung-R-y." Tony corrected.

"Hun...gry? Hungry. Hungry!" Aria was feeling so proud. She bounced around the couch, happily yelling without a care.

"I'll be right back, just need to go grab something. Stay right here, okay?" Aria nodded, waving as he left. Aria picked up her toy guitar and her plastic Iron Man. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. Aria teetered over, stretching to reach the door knob, opening it to reveal a tall man with an eye patch.

"Hello?" She asked, happy to show off the new word she learned.

"Hello Aria." The man said in a deep voice, making Aria's mood drop almost instantly. She backed away, looking up at him cautiously. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. "I'm looking for your father. Tony Stark. Is he here?" Aria held up her plastic Iron Man.

"Hungry." Aria opened up her mouth and pointed inside. "Hungry!" She repeated, her fear lessening as she dragged the man inside and pointed at the pantry where the cereal was, jumping to open the door.

"Alright." The man shrugged, grabbing the cereal.

5 Minutes Later...

"I'm back." Tony announced a new reentered the room. Tony nearly dropped the cards he was holding as he saw the strange man. "Fury. What the hell are you doing here?" Fury shook his head.

"Language. And Aria let me in. She's very polite, unlike you, Tony." He stated bluntly. Tony opened and then closed his mouth, practically fuming.

"Why the fuck are you here?" Tony asked, just as bluntly.

"I'm here to talk. Just. Talk." Fury held his hands up in surrender, showing he meant no harm. "I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers."

"Avengers?" Tony questioned, taking a sip of his freshly poured vodka.

"The Avengers, yes." Fury confirmed. "A team of super powered, or otherwise highly talented individuals gathered to protect Earth."

"Sounds corny. Like something out of a comic." Tony took another sip, savoring the alcoholic taste of his drink. Savoring the burning sensation in his throat.

"Just be there. We're meeting at your building in New York."

"Why MY building?" Tony whined childishly.

"Stop acting like a child." Tony huffed in annoyance. "Oh, and Tony?"

"What?"

"Bring Aria with you. That's an order."

 _ **Bit of a shorter chapter, sorry about that. I just wanted to get it out as soon as possible. BUT, to make it up to you guys, I'm doing a double upload today of a 1000 word chapter! That is a guarantee. It might be late tonight when I upload, but I really do want to make it up to you guys for this chapter being too short, and later than anticipated. Bye!**_


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